North Carolina 85, Virginia Tech 51
by Chris James, TechSideline.com, 12/19/04

Blacksburg, VA - The North Carolina Tar Heels used a dominating inside game and a stingy defense to down Virginia Tech 85-51 in Cassell Coliseum on Sunday, before an announced crowd of 9,847. Jawad Williams and Sean May, both inside players for UNC, tied for the team lead in scoring with 17 points apiece. Raymond Felton added 15 and Marvin Williams had 12 for the Tar Heels. The Hokies were led by sophomore guard Zabian Dowdell with 21 points on 8-15 shooting.

Virginia Tech (5-3, 0-1 ACC) fought hard and kept the game very close for most of the first half. The Hokies fell behind 8-2 early, but managed to take a 9-8 lead on a layup by sophomore guard Jamon Gordon with 13:25 remaining in the first half. Tech would later take the lead 20-19 with 7:46 remaining in the first half on a 3 pointer by Dowdell.

However, Tech played poorly down the stretch of the first half, turning the ball over 7 times in the last 5:09 of the first half. UNC (8-1, 1-0) used the 7 turnovers to go on a 17-4 run to end the first half, taking a 41-27 lead into intermission. The run ended any chances of a Tech victory. Up until the 5:09 mark, the Hokies had turned the ball over only 3 times in the half against a pressuring UNC defense. When the Tar Heels started forcing turnovers, they started to pull away.

The second half saw UNC pick up right where they left off, increasing their lead to 49-30 with 16:00 remaining in the game. The Tar Heels would gradually extend their lead throughout the remainder of the game, and the Hokies could do little about it. Overall, the Hokies played well for the first 15 minutes of the game, but UNC eventually took over due to superior play from their frontcourt.

The Hokies were outrebounded yet again, this time by the margin of 34-24. The Hokies were led in rebounding by freshman forward Deron Washington and Jamon Gordon. Each pulled down 5 boards. UNC was led by Sean May with 8 rebounds. The points in the paint totals were all UNC, as the Tar Heels outscored Tech 48-26. Another key statistic was bench points. The Carolina backups outscored Tech’s reserves 26-5 for the game, and 16-1 in the second half.

One part of the game that the Hokies can take pride in is the defensive play of their backcourt against the UNC All-American guards Raymond Felton and Rashad McCants. McCants, who led UNC in scoring coming into the game at over 20 point per game, was limited to just 3 points on 1-4 shooting. Felton was forced into 7 turnovers by the Hokie guards and had only 3 assists.

Dowdell, who had 16 of Tech's 27 first-half points, was the only Hokie who scored in double figures. Senior guard Carlos Dixon had 9 points to go along with 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals. Jamon Gordon also had 9 points. The Hokies played without center Coleman Collins, who is still recovering from surgery a week ago to remove a cyst from his foot. Washington struggled with his game against the bigger UNC inside players, shooting 3-10 and turning it over a team-high 7 times.

Tech returns to action on Wednesday night when they host Western Michigan. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 pm, and the game will not be televised.



NORTH CAROLINA (85)

                          fg    ft    rb             
                   min   m-a   m-a   o-t   a  pf   tp
J Williams          26   7-8   1-2   0-4   3   2   17
R McCants           18   1-4   0-0   0-2   2   4    3
S May               25   6-8   5-6   2-8   3   1   17
R Felton            31   4-6   4-4   0-1   3   0   15
J Manuel            23   2-3   3-4   0-3   0   1    7
M Scott             16   0-3   0-0   0-0   0   1    0
R Terry              3   2-2   0-0   0-2   0   0    5
Q Thomas             6   1-2   0-0   0-0   2   0    2
C Everett            3   0-0   0-0   0-0   0   0    0
W Miller             3   1-1   0-0   0-0   1   0    2
M Williams          20   5-6   2-3   2-6   0   2   12
D Noel              17   1-2   0-0   1-4   2   3    2
C Hooker             3   1-2   0-0   1-1   0   1    2
B Sanders            6   0-1   1-2   0-1   1   0    1
  
_____________________________________________________
TOTALS             200 31-48 16-21  6-32  17  15   85
_____________________________________________________

Percentages: FG-.646, FT-.762.

3-Point Goals: 7-14, .500 (J Williams 2-3, R McCants 1-3, R 
Felton 3-3, J Manuel 0-1, M Scott 0-2, R Terry 1-1, D Noel 0-1).

Team Rebounds: 2.
 
Blocked Shots: 9 (J Williams 5, R McCants 2, R Felton, M Williams).

Turnovers: 22 (R Felton 7, M Williams 4, R McCants 3, J 
Williams 2, S May 2, M Scott, B Sanders, R Terry, Q Thomas).

Steals: 13 (J Manuel 2, J Williams 2, S May 2, M Scott, R
Felton, R McCants, R Terry, C Hooker, Q Thomas, M Williams).

VIRGINIA TECH (51)

                          fg    ft    rb             
                   min   m-a   m-a   o-t   a  pf   tp
D Washington        31  3-10   1-4   3-5   1   4    7
C Dixon             34   4-8   0-1   0-4   4   3    9
R Krabbendam        10   0-2   0-0   0-1   0   0    0
Z Dowdell           35  8-15   0-2   1-4   2   0   21
J Gordon            40  4-13   1-2   2-5   1   2    9
S Harris             8   0-1   1-2   0-0   0   3    1
M Cooke             14   1-4   0-0   1-1   1   1    2
A Calloway          23   1-5   0-0   2-2   1   3    2
C Tucker             5   0-0   0-0   0-0   0   1    0
  
_____________________________________________________
TOTALS             200 21-58  3-11  9-22  10  17   51
_____________________________________________________

Percentages: FG-.362, FT-.273.

3-Point Goals: 6-18, .333 (C Dixon 1-3, Z Dowdell 5-10, J 
Gordon 0-3, M Cooke 0-2).

Team Rebounds: 2. 

Blocked Shots: 4 (C Dixon, A Calloway, D Washington, R Krabbendam).

Turnovers: 19 (D Washington 7, J Gordon 4, C Dixon 3, M Cooke 
3, R Krabbendam 2).

Steals: 8 (C Dixon 3, J Gordon 2, S Harris, D Washington, R 
Krabbendam).


-----------------------------------
NORTH CAROLINA       41  44   -  85
VIRGINIA TECH        27  24   -  51
----------------------------------- 

Technical fouls: None. A: 9,847.


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